Tag Archives: China

A popular Chinese snack brand has ignited online controversy after netizens revealed that its employees have to change their surnames to “rat” and refer to customers as “master”. Recently, a mainland netizen posted online claiming that “after joining Three Squirrels, you lose your real name”. Photographs from an internal meeting showed nameplates such as Shu Laodie, meaning “Rat Dad”, and …

Eight more wild boar with suspected cases of African swine fever were discovered near Barcelona, La Vanguardia newspaper reported on Sunday, as Spain struggles to limit the damage to a pork export industry worth billions of euros a year. The newspaper cited sources close to the Catalan agriculture ministry. Two cases have been confirmed, and 12 others have shown signs …

A hotel guest in central China died after the staff held on to life-saving medicine for five hours without delivering it, sparking heated online debate over the hotel’s responsibility. The 51-year-old man, surnamed Hu, was found dead in his room at a Yeste Hotel in Wuhan, Hubei province, on November 20. Hu’s death confused his friend, Han Shun, who delivered …

The alarm hasn’t yet reached the general public, but tension is beginning to build in the corridors of the aerospace industry, in microchip laboratories, and in government offices. For months, an element almost invisible to the world—yttrium—has become the silent center of a new global dispute. Supplies are thinning, prices are skyrocketing, deliveries are stalling. And while China and the …

Despite years of policy interventions, air pollution in India is rapidly getting worse. By the middle of this month, cities including the capital New Delhi were seeing air quality readings at hazardous levels. A 2024 IQ Air report found India’s particulate matter (PM2.5) levels to be more than 10 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit. In the north, pollution …

A nearly £80billion city in Malaysia, intended to be a haven for families and businesses, stands largely deserted. Forest City has a reputation of being something of a ghost town with several unfinished skyscrapers, vacant streets and buildings. In 2023, it was estimated just 15% of the ambitious project had been completed, with around 1% of the development occupied. It …

افغانستان نے تاجکستان میں ہونے والے ڈرون حملے سخت مذمت کرتے ہوئے اسے ’’انتہائی افسوسناک اور قابلِ مذمت‘‘ قرار دیا۔ بدھ اور جمعرات کی درمیانی رات پیش آنے والے اس واقعے میں تین چینی کارکن ہلاک جبکہ ایک زخمی ہوا تھا۔ افغان وزارتِ خارجہ کے نائب ترجمان حافظ ضیا احمد تکال نے ہفتے کو جاری ایک بیان میں کہا کہ …

Shanghai, mainland China’s top finance and trade hub, is set to double down on efforts to prevent the “hollowing out” of its manufacturing sector even as it pursues global financial centre status. The city’s next five-year plan, which will cover the period from 2026 to 2030, is expected to contain measures designed to lift manufacturing’s share of gross domestic product …

Hong Kong’s finance chief courted Italian companies on Thursday to go public on the city’s stock exchange, which would allow them to tap into mainland Chinese liquidity and solidify their presence in Asia. Addressing the Trade Development Council’s “Think Business, Think Hong Kong” symposium in Milan, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po highlighted the deepening ties between Hong Kong and Italy, …

The Myanmar junta’s highly publicised crackdown on cyberfraud hubs near its borders is less a law enforcement statement than a calculated performance, analysts say, aimed at placating China and shoring up credibility ahead of an election widely seen as illegitimate. Observers said the operation reflected the military’s need to project control in the face of domestic insurgency and foreign pressure, …